www.inddist.com 10 INDUSTRIAL DISTRIBUTION / July/August 2017
pace of consolidation and independent distributors
overall are finding it more difficult than ever to
remain independent. But AD members are faring better
than most.

“The independents — as a business model — are doingvery well,” says AD chairman and CEO Bill Weisberg, whohas been with AD since 1983. “They’re continuing tooutperform the large, national companies as it relates tomarket share growth in local markets.”There are many buying groups and co-operatives acrossthe industries AD serves. So what makes AD stand outfrom the rest? Most notable might be how it’s governed.

Operating as a representative democracy, everything AD
does is member-driven. Each of its services — from its rapidly growing eCommerce Initiative, to its HR services, to
its Conversion Campaign that helps distributor members
and suppliers find target opportunities — were created
out of listening to the needs of its membership and giving
them a say in the decision-making process.

“How do you take a bunch of independent distribu-tors and facilitate their collaboration? That’s what ourgovernance model is all about,” Weisberg says. “You can’tmake all these decisions in an office here in Wayne byyourself. We make sure we hear at the grassroots levelwhat people need and want.”Like with any democracy, AD knows that there’s nodecision it makes that all its members will agree with —especially given its scale. But by at least hearing everyoneout, AD can ensure those decisions are made for thegreater good. For example, if AD makes a change in asupplier relationship, its members have contributed tothat decision.

“Not only are we making better decisions because
we’re facilitating our members, but also we get better
support for the programs we have,” Weisberg says. “Like
with anything in life, you’re going to have more support
for something if you’ve been heard, even if you don’t
agree with the final outcome. That’s the most important
thing I do, is to ensure we
have really good governance.”

Networking

One of the things AD is
best-known for is its structured networking program,
which enables distributor
members to share best
practices and collectively solve
common business challenges.